The present invention relates generally to a device for dispensing material and more particularly to a device for dispensing material from a squeezable tube or collapsible tubular container.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many materials such as toothpaste, caulk, and the like come in squeeze tubes or collapsible tubular containers. In connection with each of these is the problem of inability to squeeze from the bottom up. Therefore, much of the material in the tube is wasted toward the bottom. Further, there may be a quantity of material left in the tube but it is impossible to squeeze it from the bottom or the top. Even if it is possible to do so, it is very difficult on the user. To this end, there have been several attempts to provide devices which dispense material from the bottom to the top.
This technology is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,105,984; 4,565,303; 4,365,727; 3,675,822; 2,759,636; 3,211,341; 5,145,093; 5,195,660; 4,326,647; and 3,281,016. Each of these devices has a similar feature: a V-shaped object. However, each of these materials have the same flaws. Initially, either of these devices allow the material, once squeezed to a point, to return to the closed end of the tube by allowing the sides of the wedge to be opened or, tail to hold the V-shaped plates with constant pressure over the entire length of the tube and instead maintain pressure at one point of the tube. Also, each of these devices is either very complex or comes in many pieces. None of these devices are easy to manufacture and therefore mass produced.
What is needed, then, is a device for dispensing material from a squeeze tube. This needed device must be capable of efficient, inexpensive, and quick manufacture. This device must be simple. This device must maintain pressure over the entire length of the tube. This device must be made of resilient material. This device is presently lacking in the prior art.